Sweet corn soup!!

A really healthy and delicious version of corn soup.

This is my mothers recipe, very simple to make.

All you will need is-:

1. Frozen Corn kernels-( thawed )
2. Vegetable stock/ you can use just plain water. I have used water this time.
3. Milk 1/4 cup - any milk is fine, half and half/2%/or whole.
4. Pepper powder 1/2 tbsp or you can just eyeball it...add less or more as per your taste.
5. Green onion chopped.
6. Salt to taste.

Sometimes I add some vegetables in my soup, like green beans, carrots, green onions. each of the vegetable has it's unique flavour. I love them all. This time I am going to add green onion.

Step 1:

Drop thawed corn kernels in to the grinder and make a paste out of it.

Step 2:

Heat a pan, add the paste to the heated pan, NO OIL/GHEE NEEDED.

Keep stirring the paste continuously.

Note: If you want to add the vegetables, cut them nice and thin add them at this point so that they will cook throughout the end. I actually like a little crunch to my vegetables in my soup, The crunch acts as croutons for me, but if you like to eat cooked veggies, you should cut them in big chunks and cook them first in boiling water and then add them at a later stage.

Step 3:

Now add the water to the paste, and let it be on a medium to high flame.

Step 4:

Add Salt and freshly ground black pepper and add green onion.

Serve with soy sauce, green chili sauce, as per your taste.

Enjoy!!!

Potato Curry

I like variation in the preparation of everyday vegetable. At times, I like to eat a dry preparation with chapati/poli, this is especially on weekdays, for lunch or a vegetable prepared with a gravy with all different Indian spices at others. I like to eat gravy on weekends when I am relaxed at home, gives me a feeling of comfort food.

One of such recipe is potato curry. Easy to prepare, not much of a hassle.

Here is what you will need- :

Boiled ,peeled potatoes- 2

Yogurt- 4 tbsp.

All purpose flour- 2 tsp.

A pinch of asafoetida

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp.

Coriander powder- 1 tbsp.

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp.

Paprika- 1/2 tsp

Chopped ginger- 1/2 tsp.

Green chillies -2 chopped

Canola Oil- 2 tbsp.

Bay leaf- 1

Chopped Cilantro- a handful.

Salt to taste

Chop the potatoes in to cubes. Keep aside.

In a bowl, mix yogurt, turmeric, paprika,coriander powder, chopped ginger and green chillies chopped. Mix everything together. Keep aside.

Over the stove, on a medium heat, add canola oil, in a minute, when the oil is hot add cumin seeds, let them splutter.Add asafoetida,  then add all purpose flour. Wait until the flour slightly changes the color. It will take about 1 minute. After it changes the color, add the yogurt paste you kept aside.

Keep stirring medium heat until the mixture starts to leave oil. Add some water after about 4-5 minutes.

Heads up: Keep stirring after you add yogurt mixture. Since you are heating up yogurt, if you stop stirring it might curdle on you.

Keep stirring after adding water for about 2-3 minutes. now it's time to add potatoes.  Heat for 2 more minutes. Add water and change the consistency of the gravy if you want.Now add cilantro. The last thing you want to add is salt. Keep the lid on it, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Potatoes  are already boiled so it won't take much time. 

Get ready to eat with rice or with chapati/roti. It goes really well with bread as well.

My apologies for not been able to provide you step by step shots for this recipe. So here is the only one I got.

Courtesy: Potato curry with yogurt gravy by Manjula.

I hope you will like this one...:)

A sample to try from FoodBuzz!!

I was happy to receive my mail last week. Since we moved in to our new place,this was the first time I was checking my mail box. I was expecting a parcel from foodbuzz. I waited for almost a week, and then there it was!!! Yeeeeyeeeeeeeeee!!!!

A sample of 5 Quaker True Delights from foodbuzz. I was so thrilled to see those little snack bars!!

I am a huge fan of snack bars. They are perfect for munching, perfect to eat anywhere- in the office, at home, anywhere,  and everywhere, I would just grab and go!! Perfect for travelling as well!!

They were of 3 kinds:

• Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut
  

• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond

• Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry.

I liked all three. Perfect granola bars made up with whole grains. It had a right amount of chewiness and a slight crunch, that makes you crave for more....:)

Thank you foodbuzz, for giving us, the chance to taste these wonderful products before they hit the market.

Chicken malai kabobs

Courtesy: Vah chef

I love kabobs. it's a finger food, they are just delicious. I have tried preparing many different versions, and to my knowledge, this is the best so far...!!

So here is what you will need-:

1lbs Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

1 tbsp cream cheese/sour cream

2 tbsp cream

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp corn flour

1 green chili

1 pinch of cardamom powder

3 tbsp mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp meat tenderizer

1 tbsp canola oil/olive oil

1 pinch pepper powder

salt to taste.

Chopped cilantro (Coriander)

I marinated this chicken a couple of times.

First marinade-:

Cut the chicken cubes in to 2 inches cubes. Set aside. In a bowl add black pepper powder, meat tenderizer, cardamom powder. Now before adding the ginger garlic paste, squeeze out all the liquid from it and then add it to the bowl. Mix in the chicken pieces. Mix everything really good. When you mix everything well, add some salt and mix again. Marinate the chicken pieces very well.

Keep this chicken marinated for 30 minutes in to the refrigerator.

After it gets marinated for 30 minutes, now it's time to marinate this chicken pieces with the second marinade.

Second marinade:-

In a bowl,  take some grated mozzarella cheese, add sour cream or cream cheese and then the cream. Add salt as per taste.

Make a paste out of chopped green chillies and chopped coriander and add it to the bowl.

Mix everything well. Add corn flour to it. Keep mixing and add the chicken pieces that we kept in the refrigerator 30 minutes back. Make sure that it gets marinated very well.

Add oil when the chicken gets marinated well and then mix well again. Keep in the refrigerator for one more hour.

After an hour arrange the chicken pieces on the skewers so that there will be 3 pieces on one skewer or may be two in some cases, if the pieces are large.

Preheat your oven to 500°/550° F whichever is higher in your oven.  Slide in the kabobs once the oven is preheated for about 20 minutes on a broil mode. 

Pull them out of the oven after 20 minutes then turn them and again let them cook in the oven for another 15 minutes. You can switch off the broil mode this time if you want. I like my kabobs to have a nice smoky taste and smell to it.

Take out the kabobs from the skewers and squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top of it. Serve as per your taste.